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Much has been made of J.T. O’Sullivan’s eight sacks in the last game and that Detroit quarterback Jon Kitna has been sacked an inordinate amount in the last two seasons under Mike Martz. Unless something dramatic happens and Barry Sims turns into Anthony Munoz, the 49ers will once again be among the league leaders in sacks.

The line, unfortunately, has proven to be weak in pass protection. Even in 2006 under Norv Turner, quarterback Alex Smith led the league in passes thrown away and last year’s 55 sacks were the highest in the league. Martz isn’t going to change his high-risk, high-reward offense and O’Sullivan might need seven-step drops to not only see the patterns down field but deliver the ball cleanly with his sidearm wind up.

And, has been mentioned in this space before, Martz’s offense isn’t as revolutionary as it once was. Two weeks ago former Martz protege Kurt Warner said the first option was always open when Martz, in 1999, starting coordinating the Rams’ offenses. But now, O’Sullivan often needs to look for second or third options. If he takes a seven-step drop, which generally takes a little under three seconds, and takes another second to look for a receiver, that’s four seconds, an eternity in the NFL.

What would help him is to run. In the fourth quarter against Seattle, O’Sullivan faced a 2nd-and-goal from the Seattle 10. The Seahawks were confused on defense and nobody lined up on the left side of the defense – no linemen, no linebackers, no one. O’Sullivan could have walked for 5 yards before anyone noticed. He either didn’t see it, or wanted to throw for a touchdown. He did roll left and fired incomplete to Isaac Bruce into a crowded end zone. Coach Mike Nolan has talked about O’Sullivan doing a better job with his match, and noticing how many defenders are dropping.

Part of it is O’Sullivan’s obsession with the big play, something you can’t blame him for too much. Nevertheless, O’Sullivan needs to eschew the scoring pass occasionally, tuck it and run, particularly in the red zone where O’Sullivan and the offense has struggled. If a team gives 5 yards in the red zone, that’s gold and you take it.

What would also help is the run. It’s amazing how quickly defenses have reacted to Martz. Arizona only showed eight in the box eight times in the opener. Seattle dropped an eighth man about four times and often they played a nickel defense against the 49ers even when the 49ers showed their base two-receiver, two-back, one tight end offense or their twin tight-end look.

With the eighth man staying in the secondary, Frank Gore must be salivating.

This is the first time in Frank Gore’s career he hasn’t faced seven and even six in the box and he’s probably salivating. Martz’s running game is also tough to defend because of the shifting and misdirection. But Martz, of course, would much rather pass even when it makes sense to run. That’s just the bargain you make with Martz. He’ll get your offense moving, but he’ll also generate turnovers and bust up the quarterback.

One more item about Martz and O’Sullivan, Martz told the broadcast team of Kenny Albert and Daryl Johnston that O’Sullivan sees the field like Warner and has the quick release of Marc Bulger. Then he said that O’Sullivan could be the best quarterback he ever coached. Even for someone who tends towards bombast, that’s a bold statement.